St. Louis Blues - Buffalo Hockey Beat

Sabres waive Taylor Fedun; Nick Baptiste recalled

BUFFALO – With defenseman Cody Franson returning from a foot injury, the Sabres waived Taylor Fedun prior to this afternoon’s tilt against the St. Louis Blues at KeyBank Center.

Now, will Fedun, 28, get through waivers to the AHL, or will a team looking for depth add the Princeton product? Fedun makes only $600,000 on his one-year contract and is a right-handed shot.

Fedun meshed well with the Sabres, producing seven assists in 25 games. ... Read the full article

Sabres goalie Robin Lehner thriving with heavy workload

BUFFALO – Fresh off a shutout victory, Sabres goalie Robin Lehner will start again this afternoon, his sixth straight nod and 10th in the last 11 games, the NHL’s heaviest workload of late.

At his current pace, Lehner would play 56 times this season. Today’s tilt against the scorching St. Louis Blues at KeyBank Center will be his 41st game this season, breaking a professional high he set five years ago in the AHL.

“We’re ... Read the full article

Sabres’ offense struggling to score again

BUFFALO – With a slew of established, high-priced forwards and two talented youngsters poised to break out following terrific rookie seasons, the days of the Sabres owning one of the NHL’s worst offenses appeared to be over.

But 15 games into another tough season, the Sabres have scored only 29 goals, a paltry 1.93 a contest, the league’s worst figure entering tonight’s road tilt against the St. Louis Blues.

The Sabres have scored two or ... Read the full article

Sabres trade draft pick to Blues for goalie Anders Nilsson

BUFFALO – After a goalie reneged on a verbal agreement with the Sabres on Friday, general manager Tim Murray said he was open to anything – a trade, landing another free agent or even using prospect Linus Ullmark – to fill the backup role.

With most of the established goalies in the Sabres’ price range already signed, Murray went the trade route today, sending a 2017 fifth-round draft pick to the St. Louis Blues for ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Ryan O’Reilly unhappy after loss to Blues: ‘We’re too OK with losing’

BUFFALO – Before he even says a word, Ryan O’Reilly’s face usually expresses his emotions. The Sabres center looks beaten down after losses, the missed opportunities and mistakes clearly still playing in his head.

So following the Sabres’ fifth straight defeat Monday, a 2-1 setback to the St. Louis Blues in which they blew a third-period lead, O’Reilly called out his teammates.

“We got to hate to lose more,” O’Reilly said. “I think we’re too ... Read the full article

Former Sabres captain Steve Ott playing like old self

BUFFALO – A season ago, months removed from hernia surgery, former Sabres captain Steve Ott played his usual high-octane style, but the gritty St. Louis Blues veteran chased the game.

The energy Ott showcased “was more hunting energy,” St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said Monday prior the Blues’ 2-1 win against the Sabres inside the First Niagara Center.

“He went out of his way for hits,” Hitchcock said. “He went out of his way to ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Marcus Foligno rarely shooting

BUFFALO – On Nov. 10 in Tampa Bay, in his 14^th appearance this season, Sabres winger Marcus Foligno scored his only goal, a pedestrian wrist shot from the left wall Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy mishandled.

For Foligno, the shot was almost as rare as the goal.

“When he took that shot, he came back to the bench, he knew that was his eighth shot,” Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said this morning inside the First ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Ennis needs to simplify

BUFFALO – It’s a fine line. As a shifty, speedy player who often creates highlight-reel goals few NHLers can pull off, Sabres winger Tyler Ennis’ instincts often tell him to go for the glitzy play.

But mired in one of the worst slumps of his 363-game career, Ennis, who hasn’t scored in nine games, knows he needs to go for the safer play.

“It’s tough because I know I can make the plays,” Ennis said ... Read the full article

Improved Sabres have long ways to go

BUFFALO – Realistically, one quarter into the season, seventh in the stacked Atlantic Division is a place many envisioned the Sabres would be at climbing out of their rebuild.

The 8-10-2 Sabres, as their current four-game losing streak (0-2-2) illustrates, are still a raw work in progress. They’ve already endured a string of ups and downs – a disappointing 2-6 start, a significant 6-2 run to reach .500 and injuries to defenseman Zach Bogosian and ... Read the full article

Sabres forwards struggling to generate offense

BUFFALO – Sabres coach Dan Bylsma believes Tyler Ennis’ recent erratic play is a result of pressing. The shifty winger, meanwhile, thinks he’s “just trying to play hard.”

Whatever the case, Ennis, who has zero goals in the last seven games, keeps trying to do too much.

“I think he’s trying to make a lot happen with every time he touches the puck,” Bylsma said Wednesday. “He has that mentality and (is) probably trying to ... Read the full article